"If we're going to have a party, we tell the neighbors before. We pick up the trash and we try to be respectful," said Helfrich, 22, whose rental house in the 4200 block of Parade Boulevard hosted a toga party on Friday night and early Saturday.

Both Mehm and Helfrich attended an April 4 meeting at City Hall, where Mercyhurst-area neighbors vented their concerns about students to Erie City Council.

"They're our neighborhoods too, and we want them to be nice," said Mehm, 21, who rents a house with two friends in the 500 block of East 37th Street. Each of them pays $325 a month, he said.

"I'm not just going to say 'screw you' or anything if someone complains about something," he said.

Colleges in the Erie area, including Mercyhurst, Gannon University, Penn State Behrend and Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, all urge students to respect their neighbors -- and warn that students can be held accountable for disruptive behavior, on or off campus.

"We expect our students to be good neighbors," said Robb Frederick, Behrend's coordinator of public information. "Poor choices they make off campus can lead to additional institutional discipline."

Alan Jordano, 54, lives about two blocks east of the Mercyhurst campus. He agrees the school has done what it can to deal with neighbors' complaints.

"It is better in my area, but go a couple of blocks north, near East 38th Street, and things get out of control," Jordano said. "Every year, you never know what you're going to get."

Another Mercyhurst neighbor, Tracy Heutsche, takes a different view. Heutsche, 42, lives on Parade Boulevard, across the street from the house Helfrich rents.

"Do I like the foul language? No. I don't like the litter. But these kids are all coming here from somewhere else, trying to be independent," Heutsche said.

"I don't mind it," she said. "You can't blame the college students for everything."

Codes of conduct

Students at all local colleges are expected to follow their school's code of conduct. Each school's code addresses off-campus behavior.

Gannon University's code, for example, states that while students "are generally free from University restriction in off-campus activities," exceptions can be made when a student's actions bring "discredit or ill-favor to the good name of the University."

And at Edinboro University, students involved in off-campus infractions that lead to an arrest or citation by law enforcement are required to report that violation to school officials within seven business days, according to the school's Student Code of Conduct.

Jeff Hileman, Edinboro's director of university communications, said the university's police department and borough police "are extremely cooperative," and school officials meet with borough leaders -- including Borough Manager T.J. Jemetz -- every three months to discuss various issues.

"Borough and university officials work very closely, in a number of ways, to keep lines of communication open and (ensure) the best possible relations between neighbors are maintained," Hileman said.

Behrend's Frederick said the school doesn't receive as many student-related complaints from neighbors near its campus as other schools might. "We don't have the housing overlap that other campuses deal with," he said.

Neighbors with complaints are referred to Pennsylvania State Police for off-campus incidents, Frederick said.

Laura Zirkle, Mercyhurst's associate vice president for student life, said the school has been working with residents and students for nearly a decade "to really understand what's going on."

Neighbors near the campus, many of them affiliated with the South East Neighborhood Watch, have not been shy about approaching school officials, Erie police and others, asking that students respect their neighbors, especially during late-night and early morning hours.

Many residents in that area believe the problem is linked to Mercyhurst's physical expansion over the years, which has pushed sports facilities, school buildings and students deeper into residential neighborhoods.

Zirkle said the school requires off-campus students to provide information about where they are living, with whom, and who they are renting from.

Additionally, Mercyhurst maintains information on its website about available off-campus housing and produces an "off campus living guide" with tips and information for first-time renters.

Mercyhurst's Code of Conduct reminds students that the university can take disciplinary action "for conduct deemed unacceptable or disruptive, both on and off campus."

That can range from a warning to expulsion, depending on the offense and whether the student has had previous trouble, Zirkle said.

"I think we've made a ton of improvement," Zirkle said. "The problem is, our students turn over every few years. It's never going to be perfect."

Landlords and zoning

Zirkle said one issue Mercyhurst has wrestled with is an increased number of landlords renting to students who are not taking responsibility for what goes on at those properties.

Andy Zimmerman, the city of Erie's manager of code enforcement, said city zoning laws prohibit more than three unrelated people from living in an apartment together, and zoning officer Matt Puz enforces that when the city gets a complaint.

"He'll go in and count beds, even count toothbrushes," Zimmerman said. "And Mercyhurst is very proactive and works with us. We'll notify them as well if we find something, and they discuss it with the students."

While some landlords strictly follow the rules, others give the city and college officials little cooperation when it comes to zoning issues or upkeep of their properties, Zimmerman said.

"It can be a big issue for us," he said.

Zimmerman said there are fewer student housing-related complaints near Gannon University's downtown campus "because there are more renters down there. We just don't get the complaints from residents down there."

Sandra Levermore, a 22-year-old Gannon student from Rochester, N.Y., rents a West Ninth Street apartment near campus with two friends for $1,700 per semester, which she says is much less expensive than living on campus.

"This is a mixed neighborhood. Obviously there's students and nonstudents," said Levermore, who is studying to become a physician's assistant. "I think you just try to be respectful. I don't go to a lot of parties anymore, I just keep to myself and try to be polite. And I've never really had any problems."